Jeremy Williams's Blog, page 74
January 15, 2022
What we learned this week
Scotland missed its target of 100% renewable electricity by 2020 by a slim 1.4%, according to the government’s figures.
“COP27 will be held on African soil” writes Mohamed Adow, “and provides the opportunity for the continent to ensure that the needs of the climate vulnerable – rather than the interests of rich, polluting nations – are met.”
Josh Marcus takes a 2022 run at the perennial question of fusion energy and whether or not it will come of anything.
A common defense of the fina...
January 12, 2022
The cheese dilemma
It’s easier to give up meat than cheese – that’s a common refrain I hear from people when discussing food. Whether you want to give it up or not is a personal decision, but we do need to think about it, because the environmental impact of cheese can in some cases be higher than meat. A vegetarian diet may not be a big improvement – see some comparisons here.
I’m going to try and write a bit more about food this year, but for today I just wanted to share this video from DW.com that highlights...
January 11, 2022
France adds green travel advice to car adverts
If you come across an advert for a gambling service on the radio or TV, you’ll probably get a reference to ‘begambleaware.org’. Alcohol advertising comes with ‘drink responsibly’ messaging. There’s a long list of things you can’t do in an alcohol advert, including showing solitary drinking, buying another round, drunkenness or swimming.
Some of these measures are industry iniatives, some of them legal requirements. Both acknowledge that certain products have to be advertised more carefully, ...
January 10, 2022
Book review: How women can save the planet, by Anne Karpf
“Women are affected by the climate crisis in powerfully distinct ways” writes Anne Karpf in the introduction to her book, How Women can Save the Planet. “If you don’t recognise the role that gender plays in causing the climate emergency, especially when it intersects with race, you stray from solutions that work and risk getting enticed by those that don’t.”
The book explores this inequality through a variety of angles, starting with how and why women are more affected by natural disaster...
January 8, 2022
What we learned this week
“The fossil fuel industry is facing an existential threat”, says DW.com, and plastic is a lifeline. An imaginatively presented graphical feature on plastics and fossil fuels.
“42 years ago, people would laugh at you and say, ‘Well, there’s no such thing as environmental racism. And there’s no thing as environmental injustice'” – Robert Bullard on the slow acceptance of environmental justice. “We’ve made progress” he adds, “but there’s still a lack of understanding of these issues.”
Greenp...
January 7, 2022
Climate Change is Racist – now in audiobook
I know some of you have been waiting for the opportunity to listen to my book, so just a quick note to say that the audiobook was released this week.
Climate Change is Racist: Race, Privilege and the Struggle for Climate Justice has been produced by Bolinda as a digital download or on CD if you prefer. It’s read by the actor James Saunders and you’ll get through the book in just under five hours.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to it myself yet, so if audiobooks are your thing, let ...
January 6, 2022
What I learned from getting an EV charge point
Yesterday the electrician was round to fit a domestic charge point to the front of the house. We can now charge the car without having to run a cable through an open window, which is just in time for the first sub-zero temperatures of the season. For the benefit of anyone else considering one, here are some of the things we’ve learned.
If possible, you want to charge at home
After a month with the EV, it’s clear that the public charging network leaves a lot to be desired. That’s worth another...
January 5, 2022
My books of 2021
Every year I like to review what I’ve read and pick some favourites. Here’s a list from 2021, in no particular order. Click on the titles for full reviews, and they’re available from Earthbound Books UK (or US).
A Bigger Picture, by Vanessa Nakate
Having said no particular order, this one would be my top recommendation. Africa is the continent most affected by climate change, but African voices are marginalised in the climate conversation and that makes this book a really important one...
December 18, 2021
What we learned this week
Are London’s parks big enough to host rewilding projects? Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced plans to rewild Hyde Park.
Meanwhile, over in Berlin, campaigners are making progress on plans to make the whole city more or less car-free. Fewer cars is becoming an aspiration for 21st century cities.
“A topic where I see one of the biggest gaps between public opinion and recommendations from scientists is palm oil” says Hannah Richie at Our World in Data. A useful twitter thread on a misunderstood...
December 16, 2021
The day the world stops shopping, by J B MacKinnon
“The 21st century has brought a critical dilemma into sharp relief: we must stop shopping, and yet we can’t stop shopping” writes J B MacKinnon in this imaginative book on consumerism.
The products that we consume drive the breakdown of the climate and the decline of wildlife. Even though the effects of this collapse can be seen and understood, the amount of stuff that is consumed in rich countries only continues to grow – well beyond the point of need. Waste, excess and obsolescence abo...
